


Crisis On Infinite Earths: The Beginning

by changingdestiny4



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batwoman (TV 2019), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Exposistion As To How The Heroes Were Tested For The Crisis, Gen, Nash Becomes Pariah, Pre-Crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21727657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/changingdestiny4/pseuds/changingdestiny4
Summary: A prequel to tonight's "Crisis On Infinite Earths" in which the Monitor explains to his new servant, Pariah, how he set events in motion in order to prepare heroes and worlds for the Crisis.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Crisis On Infinite Earths: The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Tonight is the night of the biggest CW superhero crossover event ever, and for almost the entire DC franchise. "Crisis On Infinite Earths", based upon the huge DC comic book series of the same name. Because of it, I've decided to write my own prequel exploring the possibility of how the Monitor might've been influencing certain things for some of the heroes and how his plan to save the multiverse came together.

Nash Wells found himself enveloped by an explosive wave of pure light and energy mixed together. He was immediately sucked through the energy wave and into the cave wall before him. As he was being transported at an amazingly fast pace, he saw various symbols, such as hieroglyphics and other symbols, appearing and swirling around him and the next thing he knew, those symbols made a beeline towards him and entered through his head.

At that moment, Nash felt his mind being bombarded with tremendous amounts of knowledge, mysteries, history, and information from times pass. It was as though the knowledge of not only the universe but of multiple universes across time and space were being downloaded into his mind.

Soon the information absorbed by his mind coalesced and became orderly, enabling him to understand the knowledge he'd been given while feeling as though his mind had been transcended into a realm beyond the natural while being filled with tremendous wisdom. It was as though all of his searches, adventures, and travels had finally led him to this moment and he felt as though he was now a part of something greater.

All of a sudden, Nash looked down as he saw his clothes vanishing while his body was encased in a spectacular green uniform with graying sleeves extending from his shoulders to his elbows, and from his elbows to his hands were a pair of golden colored leather gloves with a gold band around each of his elbows.

Afterwards he watched as a golden belt with a light in its center materialized around his waist and finally he was given a golden colored billowing cape that extended to his feet. There was also a necklace made of gold squares around his neck.

Following the completion of his transformation, Nash looked up and, standing before him, was a tall, imposing, dark skinned man wearing a dazzling blue and grey uniform with gold plates here and there. He also wore a billowing cape of his own, was bald, and had very long and thick sideburns extending downwards to his chin. All around him was an aura of tremendous power and Nash could not help but feel in awe of him. The being gazed upon him intently.

"Nash Wells, welcome", he said to him in greeting, his almost booming voice baritone sounding with the hint of an echo.

"It is I, yes, and I can see that you are the Monitor", Nash responded, still feeling overwhelmed but with an intense urge to pledge everything of himself to serve this being, including his own life if necessary.

"Yes, I am he, or Mar Novu as you also know me", he answered him with a nod. "And henceforth you are no longer Harrison 'Nash' Wells. Because of your past actions which led to the awakening of the one responsible for the destruction of worlds, you are now a Pariah who's repentance will be to serve me in whatever way I see fit while witnessing the consequences of your actiona. Henceforth, and from this day and onward, you shall be known as Pariah".

Upon hearing this pronouncement, Nash, now Parish, went down on one knee and tilted his head down in shame, but also subservience, before the Monitor.

"Great one, I accept with humility what you have bestowed upon me and will strive to do everything I can to serve you and my journey towards repentance and redemption for my actions. I am Pariah, your loyal servant, and will strive to do all I can carry out your will where ever need be", Pariah said to him with humility, still kneeling before the Monitor until the powerful cosmic being gestured for him to rise, which he did and stood facing him.

"As you know, a great and terrible Crisis is imminent, one that will mean the end of all life across the multiverse, a Crisis engineered by an extremely evil, terrible, and malevolent being far far more powerful than myself, the one you awakened", the Monitor began, addressing his latest recruit.

"And that would of course be your insane and powerful twin, the villainous Anti-Monitor", Pariah said in response, a look of grave concern appearing upon his face.

"That is correct. My twin wishes to destroy the whole of the multiverse and rebuild it as an anti-matter universe created in his own image. Originally this Crisis was meant to commence in 2024, but various forces at work, along with the timeline being reset and your own actions, has conspired to move the timetable upwards to now. In fact, the Crisis is not only imminent but has already begun while multiple worlds have fallen", the Monitor further explained, then continued. "It's nearly time for you to begin your role in helping to save what is left but before you do, I shall share with you how my entire plan to save the multiverse unveiled, starting from the very beginning".

As Pariah stood and paid rapt attention, the Monitor began the entire story as to how he set everything in motion for this day in his attempt to stop the destroyer, his twin.

"As soon as the timeline was reset and my brother was awakened to the existence of the multiverse, he saw before him a vast realm laid out before him. However, instead of seeing it as something he should explore and gain knowledge from, he regrettably saw it as something that should be obliterated and then restructured into the way he saw fit", the Monitor started, and then continued to explain regarding these events.

"Once I became aware of my brother's bloodthirsty and destructive plans, I made it my mission to counter his dark intentions and put together a plan that involved testing worlds across the multiverse in order to prepare their heroes for what was coming. My plan involved the bestowing upon a certain individual, namely one of villainous intent, a manuscript known as the Book Of Destiny, a book that had the power to grant godhood to the one who possessed it. That person would then use the book to either rewrite reality, cause devastation across their world, or a combination of both while that world's heroes would have to come together and do all they could to defeat their enemy and save their world.

"While some worlds managed to pass the test, regrettably most worlds didn't due to the heroes not doing all they could or not pushing as hard as they should've, allowing the villain to partially or completely destroy their worlds and leaving all or nearly all of them dead. I know my actions in putting worlds in extreme danger and even allowing their destruction if their respective heroes failed may sound cruel and malevolent, but they needed to understand the stakes of what was coming. Plus as horrible as it was, sometimes millions must be sacrificed in order to save the lives of billions.

"After having tested multiple worlds, I finally arrived on Earth 1 and handed the Book Of Destiny to a highly insane individual motivated by ambition and greed. Unlike the other worlds, this Earth showed promise and I realized that I'd finally found the right heroes for the job. They further proved themselves by showing their willingness to sacrifice themselves in regards to Oliver Queen, your new friend Barry Allen, and Kara Danvers who's one of the heroes of Earth 38. And her willingness to give her life for another Earth without a second thought or the chance to bid her loved ones farewell proved she was more than ready.

"You see, I was not only testing the strength and intelligence of heroes across worlds but also their hearts to see if they were worthy, and Kara, along with her Earth 1 allies and those from her world who helped, all passed my test. 

"As for Earth 38 itself, it was one world I did not even need to fully test since it had been tested many times over through each challenge Kara, her cousin Clark, and all of their loved ones and allies had been put through along with the numerous attacks and otherworldly schemes powerful and dangerous forces had reigned down upon their Earth. And even when they were on the brink of defeat or completely defeated, they still managed to find a way and ensured that darkness would fall and light would prevail.

"Furthermore they not only fight with all of their might but with their hearts, using a combination of both strength and diplomacy, while always making it a point to capture the hearts, souls, and minds of those they serve and protect.

"Nevertheless I decided to put them through a test on a smaller scale yet highly emotional level to be fully certain, not leaving anything to chance, and by rewriting certain elements of their reality I pitted against them a destructive earth bender who also strived on chaos, named Rama Khan. He first, along with his forces, used a highly dangerous individual to unleash severe strife, conflict, and civil war which engulfed their world's United States in a raging inferno so that humanity in their worst side could destroy themselves. 

"Kara and her teammates would however counter this plot with everything they had and managed to expose much of the malevolent forces behind this while winning back the hearts of humanity by reaching out towards their emotions, showing them a better way and bringing true peace to them.

"I then took it further and next arranged for Rama Khan and his people to try and unleash the most brutal forces of nature against the inhabitants of Earth 38 and on a global scale and not once but twice, the second attempt being a small scale Earth 38 test run on the eve of the Crisis, as a rehearsal for the Superfriends, as Kara calls her friends and allies, for when the destruction of my brother is unleashed upon them.

"I also set other events in motion such as, for example, saving the one who was used as Rama Khan's tool, known as Lex Luthor, from what would've been certain death and arranged for his sister, who's Kara's closest friend, to encounter and then kill him. Before that, he shared with her Kara's secret pertaining to her dual identity but twisted the truth. Because of this, she would turn against Kara and challenge her more emotionally than past adversaries. This was my intent though to turn this individual into an adversary in order to see how far Kara would go to save the soul of the person she cared for the most and if she was able to, then she would once more prove herself able to do all she could when the time comes during the Crisis.

"Despite Kara being unable to save her from herself as of now, she did pass my test by doing all she could to achieve that and no matter how much it pushed her emotional limits, even challenging others who thought her once friend was lost to her. 

"Another reason I turned this woman, Lena Luthor, against Kara was to arrange for her to unleash her own plot upon the world in response to what she perceived as Kara's betrayal, and it would commence at the same moment as Rama Khan's second attempt at global calamity, challenging the hero and her allies on two fronts, the perfect final pre-Crisis dress rehearsal for Earth 38. All of the superfriends involved made it through the rehearsal and managed to save their world on both fronts, and they are now completely ready for the present events now that the Crisis is upon us.

"I also tested another Earth 38 resident, a powerful Martian warrior, by sending his vengeful brother against him and not only for the same reason I turned Lena against Kara but also to help him resolve his past so that he can face the Crisis head on without any emotional conflict.

"In fact, and out of all the worlds I've traveled to, I have found Earth 38's heroes to be the strongest of them all and it's for that reason that I've chosen that Earth for where the heroes will make their stand against the Anti-Monitor."

Pariah stood in awe at hearing all of this, absorbing it.

"Amazing, utterly amazing. You've really been involved in so much behind the scenes and those you were testing didn't even know it", he said in response to all he was hearing so far.

"Indeed I have, and so has my brother", the Monitor nodded in response. "In fact, and over the centuries we've been involved in shaping the histories of worlds although while my intent is for the good of those worlds, his intent is for their ruin and to build upon his own power. I have done all I can however to counter him at every turn and will continue to do so throughout this current Crisis.

"And while I had already tested Earth 1, I still needed to test its two most important heroes, Barry Allen and Oliver Queen, because in order for billions to survive this Crisis, both Barry Allen and Oliver Queen must die. Therefore they needed to be able to face the specter of death to see if their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice still burned bright as ever.

"And so I created an adversary for Barry, one very personal towards him, in the form of a man known as Ramsay Russo, a man facing his own mortality. And I arranged for them to have a similar trajectory in that both of them would be facing death and then used Ramsey to challenge Barry on a strongly psychological level while ramping up the temptation for him to try and save billions without having to make the ultimate sacrifice, and even with him being given the power over death as a bonus.

"You see, while many heroes have been tested and all of those tests have been hard, Barry's test was the hardest of them all and impacted him more than any other hero, including Oliver himself. Sadly Barry would succumb to temptation and would fall under Ramsey's thrall for a time, but he would quite quickly overcome it, breaking free, and return to the hero and the man he once was and before he lost his soul forever. So in many ways Barry can be seen as one of the strongest heroes of them all.

"As for Oliver, I put him through a scenario where he was forced and try to save the life of someone very important to him, someone who'd already passed away from this life. This test however was not to save this individual but to see if he could accept that this person's death was inevitable and in turn, accept that his own death was inevitable. It would take some time and multiple run throughs and resets, but in time, and with the help of another of my servants, he was able to comprehend as to what I was trying to convey to him, and, like Barry, has now completely accepted and made peace with his inevitable death.

"In addition to testing Oliver, I also transported his adult children from the future and not only because time was a gift and he deserved to have a chance to say goodbye to them since he hadn't originally, but also because his city was in shambles in the future and I could not, in good conscience, allow his work to be for nothing and his legacy torn asunder and especially after him giving his life to save billions.

"Thankfully, with the knowledge his children imparted to him, he was able to take steps to build a better future and ensured that the darkness which would've encompassed his city would never come to pass.

"Another hero I tested was an individual named Kate Kane, a woman who'd chosen to take her cousin's mantle as the protector of this Earth's Gotham City. She will also play a major role in this Crisis and so I needed to test her as well, especially since she was a budding hero and one filled with a bit of arrogance which needed to be knocked down a peg.

"And so I would rewrite reality pertaining to her life and created a new timeline for her in which her twin sister, who meant more to her than anything, would become one of her worst enemies. I arranged for the rope that would've been her lifeline towards salvation to break off despite her and Kate's cousin doing all he could to save her, allowing her to fall into a river and nearly drown. I then rescued beer from a watery grave and set up circumstances which molded her into the villainous and insane person she is now.

"I did not remove her free will however and therefore she's still accountable for her own actions. She's done many terrible things towards her sister, family, and the city but my test for Kate was the same as for Kara and the Martian warrior, which was to see if she would do all she could to save her sister from the darkness.

"Kate would go on to surprise me by exceeding my expectations and would go above and beyond the call of duty to bring her sister away from the path she was on, even going against her own friends and family and in some ways more so than Kara herself during the latter's test with Lena. She failed however since her sister is too lost in the darkness as of now but she nonetheless passed the test as well since whether or not they succeeded or failed, she, Kara, and J'onn all did everything they could to save their loved ones turned adversaries and refused to give up.

"Kara Danvers, J'onn Jonzz the Martian, Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, and Kate Kane. All of them protectors of their cities and their own worlds, but flawed. All of them tested and pushed towards their limits but overcoming everything I unleashed upon them. And now it's time for all of them to answer the call and become the heroes they are ultimately meant to be, a part of the many chosen ones, along with seven paragons who will fight beside them, who'll save the multiverse from annihilation."

All this time Pariah could do nothing but continue to stand and listen as all of this information was given to him, and once the Monitor had concluded his tale, Pariah could only respond by taking a deep breath as he let his mind process this knowledge and was impressed by how much influence the cosmic being had been pulling strings from behind the scenes.

"Well you've most certainly had your hands full haven't you?" he asked him rhetorically with a slight chuckle, shaking his head a bit in amusement before returning back to his serious stance. "And now that it's all over and all of these heroes are ready, shall I assume it's time for us to get going and save this whole multiverse?"

"Yes, the time is now and already my other servant, who is a Harbinger of things to come, has been sent to gather together Oliver Queen, his daughter, Kara's cousin, who's also the most important hero of his world, and said cousin's wife, and also Kate Kane herself and will be bringing them to Earth 38. They will later be sent to collect some of the seven paragons while you yourself will be sent very soon to collect one of them, known as Jefferson Pearce and the hero known as Black Lighting. And now let us begin in our endeavor to stop my brother and save all reality."

Pariah knelt before the Monitor once more.

"Your loyal servant is ready for this undertaking, and now let us begin indeed."

As Pariah steeled himself for the task ahead, the voice of a dangerous villain, known as the Psycho Pirate, a servant of the Anti-Monitor, stood before his own master.

"And now the time has come, the play has started. Very sol worlds will live, worlds will die, and the universe, will never be the same", he whispered and with an evil grin upon his face, eagerly anticipating the death and destruction that would soon be unleashed. The Anti-Monitor responded with a cruel smirk upon his own face, vowing that nothing and no one, not even his brother, would stop him.

To Be Continued in

"Crisis On Infinite Earths"

Starting tonight on our local CW networks.

**Author's Note:**

> now "Crisis" is here ya'll. Whoo ho. Who's ready ? I know I am.
> 
> And that was my exploration as to how the Monitor might've been more involved in events than we had previously thought.
> 
> Before I go, I'd like to apologize if this was too much exposition. I promise that wasn't my intent and please let me know if it was.


End file.
